For Tamara Clarke, her most resounding money lesson came the week of her birthday, just as she was entering her sophomore year of college. “I was living in Florida and one of my uncles showed up late in the night to tell me that my Dad had suddenly passed away,” recounts the American writer and mother-of-two.
Earlier that summer, Tamara had conscientiously saved everything she earned assisting at the local pharmacy, buoyed by her parents’ promise to buy her first car provided she contributed to the down payment. “I had a goal of 500 dollars and every time I felt tempted to spend it, I had my Dad’s voice in the back of head saying ‘save it Tamara!’”
In the end, after negotiating with the travel agent on the phone to give her a bereavement rate, it took every single dollar she had – “just under one thousand dollars”- so she could book a one-way ticket home to be with her family in Virginia and say her last goodbye to her father. “That’s when it hit me so hard… how money habits can influence your life outcomes. It’s only because I had some savings that I could act quickly and decisively in that moment, without having to depend on someone else.”
Here is Tamara’s personal finance story in her own words:
Early in my career as a software developer, I traveled a lot for work and on one of my flights I remember picking up Kiplinger magazine and reading about “penny stocks” and “dollar shares” i.e. company shares that only cost a dollar or less. I didn’t realise you could get shares at that price point so I kept that in the back of my mind. When I switched jobs, I took a small amount – something like a hundred dollars – from my IRA and used it to invest in these dollar stocks. A hundred dollars can buy you a lot of shares at that price! From the beginning, I kept it passive, long-term and used an online platform to buy my shares so that I could avoid paying additional fees for a financial advisor or expensive broker.
I’m a moderate risk-taker. I’m not an emotional investor, so the ups and downs that can happen in markets don’t faze me.
In terms of other investments, I did buy a home as soon as I could afford to in the US (before we moved to Abu Dhabi) because it helps with taxes. My husband and I have also started a college savings account for our children from which they can withdraw funds as soon as they turn 18. I returned to the workforce earlier this year after a ten-year hiatus, so now that we have two incomes, we can develop a more aggressive long-term saving and investing plan.
I still have student loans from university which I make a point to keep in good standing, because in America, your credit score is very important. In my early twenties, I did have an issue with a few credit card payments and realized the importance of negotiating with creditors and coming up with settlement options as well as closing any bad debt once you can. If you owe a thousand dollars, pick up the phone and ask them if they’re willing to settle for three hundred if you will pay tomorrow. Getting into a conversation is a much quicker way of arriving at a solution than ignoring a problem and pretending it doesn’t exist. Be your own financial advocate and take control of the situation.
I am a diva on a budget. I’m always keeping my eye out for a deal. In fact, my boys (aged 7 and 4) hear me use that word at least once a week. I’ve made it a point that my kids understand that their mom and dad buy things only if it is in the budget. When we were getting ready to buy new gear for the new school year, my older son didn’t ask me “Can I get this new pair of sneakers?” Instead, he asked: “Mom, are new sneakers allowed in the budget?”
I’m also teaching my kids to make their own decisions about spending money and how you don’t need to buy things the moment you want them. This year my son was obsessed with getting these Steph Curry sneakers so with his birthday money; a grand sum of AED 800. I explained that he could either go to the local mall and buy one pair or wait a few weeks until we went to the US for the summer, where I could take him to an outlet mall so he could buy two pairs for the same amount. I left the decision entirely up to him and was very happy that he decided to wait and get more bang for his buck…he’s taking after his mom!
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